I have played a few of Ubisoft's dance games such as various Just Dance titles and the Michael Jackson Experience. I found the Just Dance games to be aimed at the youth, while Michael Jackson was almost too difficult, but the lag made the latter odd and you could swing one arm to get a Perfect on some moves. When I heard about The Hip-Hop Dance Experience, I was excited since hip-hopI have played a few of Ubisoft's dance games such as various Just Dance titles and the Michael Jackson Experience. I found the Just Dance games to be aimed at the youth, while Michael Jackson was almost too difficult, but the lag made the latter odd and you could swing one arm to get a Perfect on some moves. When I heard about The Hip-Hop Dance Experience, I was excited since hip-hop dance is my favorite style, but I expected it to be a lot easier than its competitor, Dance Central.

As soon as I started it, I was quite pleased. I'll start with the actual in-song gameplay. Not only do you see the person that you have to mirror, but you also see the back of the person that you create & customize in the Wardrobe mode. That means you get to see both perspectives of the moves at the same time, which is something I find really convenient since I tend to have alternating preferences. For every song, there is also its music video creatively placed into the background of whatever venue you're playing in, and it looks nice! Another perk is that the flash cards for the next moves are animated instead of stationary with highlighted body parts and arrows. For me, that makes it easier to get the moves right if it is my first time seeing them, even if they are complex. Aside from just regular dance, there's marathon, power skooling (practice), and battle. I actually haven't played battle yet, so I have no comments for that yet. Marathon is a great workout, because you play songs endlessly with just a tiny break in between each one. You start out with a life meter that restores itself slightly after every completed song. Once your life meter completely depletes, it's over.

Power skooling is the practice mode, but it's where I immediately compare it to Dance Central, since I played that first. When you choose a song, you see the animated move for each song and have the ability to choose one to master. Now, while you do get to practice each song as long as you want, normal or slow tempo, it can become annoying to constantly put your arm at an angle to change the move when you're ready to go on. This is where it could be argued that flowing like the Dance Central practice mode may be more convenient, but at the same time, you sacrifice doing each move infinite times without an extra step.

In conclusion, this game's moves are surprisingly difficult (on hard; medium is no easy feat either), and it's a great satisfaction, especially if you are into this kind of music. The challenge is definitely on par with that of Dance Central. Even if you are a dancer trying to find more awesome choreography to master, but not familiar with this genre, you will not be disappointed. If this game had voice commands I would probably give it a 8.5. The new Dance Central 3 is virtually 85% voice commands which makes for easy navigation. Going from that to this takes away from my patience a bit, but it's still fun. It also lacks variety in modes aside from the obvious... no unique mode that makes you go wow. Not even some sort of story or career mode.

After playing the likes of Just Dance & Dance Central, I keep going back to The HHDE and here's why.

I enjoy Hip hop and especially from watching the Step Up series, I've always wanted to emulate those iconic dancers. This game brings you to the heart of hip hop. There is no better feeling that failing at a hard but lavish move only to get it after minutes of repetitive practise. I alsoAfter playing the likes of Just Dance & Dance Central, I keep going back to The HHDE and here's why.

I enjoy Hip hop and especially from watching the Step Up series, I've always wanted to emulate those iconic dancers. This game brings you to the heart of hip hop. There is no better feeling that failing at a hard but lavish move only to get it after minutes of repetitive practise. I also found that I would suddenly know the right moves, when it came to different songs that just popped into my head. almost like muscle memory when the right tune was played.

Gameplay is the same all around, you emulate what the dancers on the screen are doing in real time. There is the provision of 2 player head 2 head and drop in co-op. The marathon mode is also a fun excuse to exercise. It does lack a few features that would be found in dance central e.t.c what it does however is give you Hip Hop dance moves like you'd come to expect.

The sad reality is that no a lot of people have got to witness this game which is such a shame.…Expand

For those who already have mad skills on the dance floor, this game delivers as advertised. Unfortunately it is also fiendishly hard and those not endowed with a strong hip hop dance background will find a very steep learning curve.

The Hip-Hop Dance Experience is a good game for true Hip-Hop fans. The wise track list and the interesting dance tricks are enough to grant a lot of fun to Hip-Hop maniacs. Other players, on the other hand, should look for Dance Central 3, simply better in every single aspect.